Courtney Love Sued for Plotting Kidnapping, Attempted Murder

According to a civil complaint filed in Los Angeles County, Isaiah Silva, the ex-husband of Love’s daughter Frances Bean Cobain, has claimed the actress/musician orchestrated a plot against him that included assault, kidnapping, extortion, false imprisonment, and attempted murder. Sam Lutfi — who managed Britney Spears during her public breakdown in 2007 — and 13 Reasons Whystar Ross Butler are also accused of playing a role.

Silva claims the scheme was hatched so Love could reclaim ownership of her late husband Kurt Cobain's guitar (a 1959 Martin D-18E he famously played during Nirvana's 1993 MTV Unplugged performance), which Cobain gifted him as an anniversary present. The instrument has been a point of contention for the family since the couple filed for divorce in 2016, with Love calling it a "treasured heirloom of the family" and saying, "It's not [Silva's] to take."

Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Cobain lost the guitar to Silva in their recently finalized divorce settlement.

Silva alleges that, in the midst of he and Cobain's divorce, Love and Lutfi "became obsessed with finding a way to retrieve the guitar," and at one point teamed with Butler and a chauffeur named Yan Yukhtman to hack into his iMessage account and send messages that made him appear he was "despondent" and "contemplating suicide." According to Silva, it was part of a broader plan to commit a home invasion, kidnap and murder him, make it appear to be a suicide, and recover the guitar, as well as remove him from claims to he and Cobain's house.

Neilson Barnard, Getty Images

He goes on to allege that things came to a head on June 3, 2016, when Lutfi, Butler, and Yukhtman allegedly broke into his house, physically removed a friend who was over, and threatened to rape and beat Silva. They then purportedly kidnapped him, drove off, and further threatened him before narrowly evading arrest when police arrived at the scene. Silva says no arrests were made because Lufti threatened to hurt his family — including his 7-year-old daughter, Arlo — if he didn't go along with his story that they were old college friends and it was merely a prank gone awry.

Afterward, Silva claims, Lutfi and co. took him back to his house and demanded he hand over the guitar. When he told them it wasn't there, Silva says Lufti pressured him to sign a settlement that would relinquish his rights to the instrument, any claim to spousal support and the houses he shared with Cobain, and other family memorabilia he'd acquired during their marriage in exchange for $120,000.

Silva claims the harassment continued from there, with Lutfi allegedly stalking Silva and his family, causing his friend to lose his job, posting a Craisglist ad advertising his daughter's puppy as a free dog, and illegally rerouting his mail to be delivered to Lutfi's apartment.

Silva said he was afraid to go to the authorities because Lutfi had convinced him he and Cobain "controlled the LAPD, judicial system, and media." He eventually filed a police report on June 8, 2016 and obtained a temporary restraining order against Lutfi later that month.

Love's rep has yet to comment on the lawsuit, but a source told Billboard, "Frances and the family are prepared to fight with a fury of unprecedented legal force and they will prevail."